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WHAT'S HOT: The Inspiron 3800 packs a lot of style and substance for the money. Few sub-$1400 laptops offer dual pointing devices, an S-Video-out port for watching video on a TV, and an internal bay that can hold any of eight devices. What's more, you can order this matte-gray machine with a colorful screen frame and upper casing--green, maroon, or purple. You don't have to squint to see whether that's a microphone port or a headphones port on the 3800, either, as you would with many other notebooks: Refreshingly easy-to-spot white icons mark its connections.

WHAT'S NOT: There's no built-in modem, so you'll have to pay $40 to $120 more to add an external or PC Card modem. And since there's no built-in network port either, you'll have to buy a PC Card network adapter if you want to put this notebook on a network.

WHAT ELSE: Like most budget notebooks, the Inspiron 3800 has a modest configuration: It's powered by a Celeron processor, has a 12.1-inch screen, and carries a 5GB hard drive. In other respects, however, this midsize laptop is remarkably well-rounded. Our test machine turned in a PC WorldBench 2000 score of 113 (average for a Celeron-600 portable), and the battery lasted a respectable 3.3 hours.

The keyboard feels steady, and the 3800's polished design simplifies upgrading. Another plus: The hard drive easily slides out for locking away or swapping. You can even add a second hard drive with up to 18GB of storage space ($379 extra) to the notebook's modular internal bay. Alternatively, the bay can accommodate the bundled floppy drive or bundled CD-ROM drive, a second battery ($99), a 100MB Zip drive ($139); an 8X DVD-ROM drive ($149) or an 8X/8X/24X CD-RW drive ($250).

To enable you to use the floppy drive alongside another device in the bay, Dell includes a parallel port cable. If you don't need any of this equipment, you can insert a weight-saving module into the bay and pare the notebook's weight to 6.5 pounds. Dell tops off the package with a passable bundle of office applications and its usual attractive documentation, including a thorough electronic manual.

BEST USE: SOHO users and students who don't need a huge hard drive or screen will like the Inspiron 3800, with its attractive case colors, choice of add-in devices, and all-around good performance. Just add a modem, and it's ready to go.

SUMMARY

Dell Inspiron 3800 PC WorldBench 2000 score of 113, Celeron-600, 64MB of SDRAM, Windows 98 SE, 12.1-inch active screen, 8MB of video memory, 5GB hard drive, 10X-24X CD-ROM drive, touchpad and eraserhead pointing devices, 8.3-pound weight (including CD-ROM drive, floppy drive, drive cable, and AC adapter), Microsoft Works 2000. 1-year parts warranty, 1-year parts and labor warranty; free, unlimited 24-hour tech support. $1199 800/388-8542 www.dell.com